A Golden Heart
by kp83
Summary: Kim and her family reflect on their memories after the loss of a loved one.


**A Golden Heart**

A/N: Set about six months before the episode "The Golden Years."

Disney owns Kim Possible and all related characters. I also don't own the poem at the end.

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Kim sighed heavily as she poured coffee into a cup for her Nana. The past few days had been rough on the redhead, but today took the cake. She could easily say that saying goodbye to her granddaddy, and watching them close the coffin, was the hardest thing that she has had to do in a long time; and that is saying something since she saves the world on a regular basis.

After Kim finished pouring the coffee, she grabbed a couple of sodas from the refrigerator and put them on the tray with the coffee. Then, she had the daunting task of deciding what food item she would bring to the family as a snack to go with their drinks. Ever since they found out about her granddaddy's passing, neighbors and friends of her grandparents had been bringing food by the house. She had no idea how they were going to eat it all, but she and her family were grateful for it because it meant that they did not have to worry about cooking during this sad time.

When she noticed the lemon cake, she knew that was the perfect choice. It was her granddaddy's favorite. While it may not have been Nana's lemon squares, she still thought it was fitting for them to have his favorite treat as they reflected on him and his life…a life that touched many, but taken away too soon. The redheaded teen still could not believe how fast everything happened…

- (Two and a half months ago)-

Ann and James sat Kim and the twins down in the living room of their home to tell them that their granddaddy had been diagnosed with an advanced stage of colon cancer and he was scheduled to have surgery to remove the tumor. Instantly, the children were worried and upset, but their parents tried to calm them by reminding them that their grandfather, despite the cancer diagnosis, had always been the picture of health and was in great physical shape for a man in his seventies. Even the doctors were optimistic that he would pull through the surgery…and pull through he did. He had very little complications afterward and improved enough that the doctors thought that he could start his chemo sessions.

The first chemo treatment came about a month and a half after the surgery and the whole family waited on bated breath for his reaction to the chemo. The days following his session had their stomachs in knots; they hoped that the effects of the chemo would not make him violently ill like it did to some. Thankfully, he did not get sick, the worst side effect that he had was that he was tired. After that, the whole family's optimism rose. They knew he was a fighter and it seemed as if he was headed in the right direction to win this battle.

Unfortunately, Granddaddy Possible took a turn for the worse after his second chemo session. This time, he did get sick from the treatment. This new development, along with exhaustion and a low white blood cell count were a cause for concern, so he was admitted into the hospital.

After some discussion with Nana, James decided that he would take a few days off work and travel the short distance to Upperton to stay with his mother while his father was in the hospital. He knew she would appreciate the company and having another person to take turns staying at the hospital would give her a chance to get some much-needed rest.

The first three days in the hospital for Granddaddy Possible were hard, as the medicine that they had him on confused him and he flip-flopped back and forth in time in his mind. One minute he though he was a young child, the next minute he was a young man having just married, and then he was back to the present. However, despite his rocky mindset, the doctors and those present to see his condition did not think that he was deteriorating to a point to where he was knocking on death's door.

On day four, James left the hospital around mid morning to get some sleep. He and Nana had it worked out that she would spend the whole day at the hospital and he would spend the night, so someone would always be there. When the rocket scientist left his father, he was sitting up in bed eating, and other than thinking that it was twenty years in the past, he did not seem to be declining any more.

Two hours after James returned to his mother's house, he got a phone call telling him that his father's condition had worsened and he needed to comeback to the hospital. When he arrived, Nana told him that his father was in critical condition and that the doctors were trying to stabilize him. James called his brother, Slim, and Ann to keep them informed and said that he would call when his father stabilized, but he suggested that they come to the hospital.

Thirty minutes after making his phone call, the attending physician informed the worried family that _"Mr. Possible was somewhat stabilized."_ He had developed a blood clot that was inhibiting the normal flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. The doctor also said that they were treating him and they would let them know if there was a change in his condition, but he was very weak, so his recovery would be slow.

James immediately called the family and updated them. Slim told him that he and Joss were on the next flight into Middleton and Ann told him that she would be there in less than an hour. She had just picked Kim up from school and she was on her way to get the twins; then they were going straight to the hospital. James hung up with his wife and returned to his sleeping father's room to sit with him and his mother while they waited for the rest of the family to arrive.

Unfortunately, things happened quicker than anyone expected. Fifteen minutes after James made his second call to his family, he had to make a third call telling them that his father had passed. Everyone was devastated by the news and how quickly it came. Just as they had had a sigh of relief that he stabilized, within minutes they were being told that he was gone! No one was expecting it. Thankfully, he was at peace at the end. According to the doctor, he was not in any pain the minutes leading up to his death; it was as if he had just fallen asleep.

- (Present)-

"Anyone want lemon cake?" Kim asked as she carried a tray with cake and drinks into Nana's living room.

"That would be nice, thanks dear." Nana said. "Your grandfather always loved lemon cake."

"I know; that's why I picked it."

"He was…he was a good man." Nana said choked up as she talked about her husband.

"Yes he was." Slim said and sniffed away a tear.

"He was a simple man, but a great man at the same time. His greatest want in life was to have a family. We were his world, and he loved us more than anything." Nana paused for a few seconds and then started to chuckle. "It didn't matter where we went; he was always talking about us. We played golf twice a week at the country club, and everyone there got biweekly updates on you guys. He was so proud of all of you." A silence took over the room as they absorbed Nana's story and it brought back fond memories of their time with him.

"Slim, do you remember the time that we got caught egging houses on Halloween?" James asked.

"I sure do Squirt, and we would've gotten away with that prank too if you hadn't forgotten about that egg that was in your pocket. I nearly passed out when that cop patted us down and we heard the egg crack." He said with a laugh.

"I can still remember Dad's face when he opened the door and saw us standing there with the police."

"What'd he do?" Tim asked his father.

"Oh, he was mad, and we got an earful about respecting other people's property and doing right by other people. I remember when we talked to the Judge the next morning, Dad assured him that he would teach us a lesson that we would never forget."

"And we never did." Slim said. "Not only did he make us clean up every house that we hit, he also put us to work in their yards. It was one of the hardest, but most valuable lessons that he ever gave us."

"How old were y'all when this happened?" Joss asked.

"Well, I was eight, so that would make Slim about ten."

"Yeah, your granddaddy was a no-nonsense man when it came to his children doing things that we knew we weren't suppose to do."

"Well, you boys didn't get into that kind of trouble much. Most of the time, we were worried about you two trying to launch the station wagon into orbit." Nana said quite seriously.

Jim and Tim gave each other looks that said, _"Hicka-bicka-boo"_ and Ann could see that they were just formulating a plan to send one of their cars in to space. She decided to change the subject before they got too far down that thought path. "Well, I have story about Granddaddy that always makes me smile when I think of it."

"Is this the story when you were pregnant with Kimmie?" James asked.

"Yep."

"Oh, I've always liked this story."

"When I was about five months pregnant with Kim, Nana and Granddaddy decided that they were going to spend a few days with us in Middleton, and while they were down, we went to do some shopping for the nursery. Well, as it goes with pregnant women, we have cravings at the most random times, and mine through out my pregnancy were french fries and brown gravy."

Joss just gave a confused look showing she was not sure about that combination. Kim noticed and put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Trust me, I thought the same thing once, but they really are delicious."

"Yes, they are, but most people tend to think like you Joss, because it's not something that you'll normally find on a menu, in this country anyways. Well, as I said, I was craving french fries and gravy as we were shopping, so Granddaddy told me to sit down and he would go find some for me. He finally came back thirty minutes later with a large plate of thick cut fries covered in brown gravy. He had to go to almost every restaurant in the mall before he could find one that had both french fries and brown gravy. I was in heaven after that and I'll never forget that he combed the mall for me so I could satisfy my crazy food cravings!"

Everyone had a good chuckle over that story, especially the twins because they had a story that was somewhat related. "I guess Granddaddy went out of his way sometimes to make sure that all of us were happy when we ate." Tim said.

"Yeah, every time we would come for a visit or he was visiting us, Granddaddy would always take us kids out for burgers and ice cream." Jim said.

Just as Jim said that, Kim got an amused look on her face. "Jim, Tim, you weren't suppose to tell! That was our little secret!"

"What are you three talking about?" James asked. "I knew he took you out for ice cream, but what's so secret about it?"

"Well the first time it happened, we were about five, and Mom made something for dinner that we didn't like…" Jim started.

"…she was going through her experimental stage then, so Granddaddy took the three of us aside and said that we didn't want to hurt mom's feelings by not eating, so if we ate a little bit of our dinner without complaining, he would take us out for burgers afterwards." Tim finished.

"So when he told us he was taking you out for ice cream, he was really taking you out for burgers?" Ann asked in disbelief.

"No, not every time." Tim answered.

"He took us out for ice cream most of the time, but if he could tell that we didn't like what was being served, he would give us a wink, and that was our sign that we were going out for ice cream AND burgers." Jim said.

"We just had to make sure that we ate some of the food that was on our plates and most of the vegetables." Kim said with a smile.

"I had no idea!" Nana said surprised. "I'm glad he made sure that you ate your vegetables, but I'm surprised that I never knew that he did that."

Slim, then gave his daughter a curious look and asked, "Did Granddaddy take you out for burgers too little darlin'?"

"Nope." Joss said and her father gave a sigh of relief. "He always took me out for pizza." She said with a sly grin and the three other possible kids just busted out laughing. The adults just rolled their eyes at the children's behavior and laughed along with them.

When they all calmed down from their giggle fit, Kim had a story that she wanted to share. "You know, even though Granddaddy would sometimes sneak us out for burgers and pizza, there was one thing that we always enjoyed eating at home…"

The twins and Joss just gave her a knowing look and then all four cousins yelled, "Granddaddy Corn!"

"I should've known that was coming." James said shaking his head in amusement.

"I don't know how many of our friends we had to tell that 'Granddaddy Corn' was not a name brand and they could not buy it at the store." Ann added.

"Really?" Nana asked.

"Yeah. The kids always asked for 'Granddaddy Corn,' so when we had guests over for dinner, they thought it was a brand name and not corn that the kid's grandfather grew."

"Everyone that had it loved it, so they wanted to know where they could buy it." Kim said. "I use to love it when we would go out to his garden and pick corn. It was definitely a yummy family activity!"

"Plus, we got to fill the back of the car with corn!" The twins cheered.

"Better corn than something else." Ann said under her breath.

"You know what kids; I think I still have some of his corn in the freezer. Maybe tomorrow we can have it with dinner, what do you think?" Nana asked.

"Really? That would be spankin!"

"Hicka-bicka-boo!"

"Hoo-sha!"

"Boy Howdy, I can't wait!"

Again, the adults just chuckled at the kids' behavior and their excitement over something as simple as corn. It did not take long for everyone to notice that the mood had been lightened by their stories of Granddaddy and the way that the kids were acting cheered everyone up, especially Nana.

"Well Joss, everyone's told a story today, do you have one that you'd like to share?" James asked.

"I sure do. Do y'all remember when Daddy and I were visiting a few years ago and I got my first real bike?"

"Oh yeah, you were a natural. Best bike rider I'd ever seen." Slim said with a grin and some sarcasm in his voice.

"Daddy!"

"Sorry darlin', go ahead."

"Anyways, I had just gotten my new bike and I was learning how to ride it. I still had the training wheels on, and after a while, I thought I was an expert rider. Well, for some silly reason, I decided that I was going to see how fast I could go. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to judge the distance that I would need to stop, and I ended up crashing into Nana's flower bed."

"I remember that." Nana said. "Kim practically flew into the house to tell us."

"Well, Granddaddy was outside with us and he had seen me do it, so he was there to pick me up afterwards. I wasn't hurt bad, just a few scratches, but I was crying because I thought I was going to get into trouble for destroying the flowers. Granddaddy gave me a hug and said that he didn't care about the flowers and he was just glad that I was okay. Then he took me inside, washed my face and scratches, and gave me a popsicle to make me feel better."

"Aww, that was nice, did the popsicle help?" Ann asked.

"Oh yeah, I felt much better afterwards, Auntie Ann." Joss said and then looked at Nana. "Sorry about your flowers, Nana." She said. Thinking about that story, she felt like she should apologize again because she really did destroy that garden.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear. I was with your grandfather on that one. As long as you weren't hurt, I was okay with it."

'_Beep Beep Be Beep!'_ Kim's Kimmunicator interrupted. She took it out of her pocket and saw that it was her best friend. "It's Ron. Is it ok for me to take this?"

"Sure Kimmie, tell him we said hi." Ann said.

Kim left the room and answered, "Hi Ron."

"Hey KP, I was just calling to see how things went today, and I was wondering how you were holding up?"

"Oh, I'm ok. The funeral was sad and there wasn't a dry eye in place, but we had each other, so we made it through. It was a nice service, and a lot of people came to pay their respects."

"That's good to hear, how's your Nana doing?"

"Well you know; she's upset. I mean they were married for fifty-seven years, but after we started telling stories of Granddaddy, she seemed to perk up a little. How are things with you? Having fun?"

"Yeah, but I feel bad for being in New York when I know what you're going through. I should have been there today. I know I haven't met your grandparents, but I still feel like I should have been there with you."

"Ron, please don't feel bad. I know you wanted to be here, and I appreciate it, but I honestly think that you are where you need to be…with your grandparents. It's not every day that they get to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and after losing one of my grandparents, I know how important is to see them when you can, especially when they live as far away from you as they do."

"I guess you're right. Hey, you know what I was wondering, how did we go this long with out meeting each other's grandparents? We're together all time."

"Yeah, that is weird, but I guess we both had family things going on at the same time that it never happened. We should change that. I know my Nana would like you."

"Are you kidding me, my Grandma would try to adopt you. I talk about you all the time, so she already loves you!"

The two teens had a laugh at themselves and chatted for a few more minutes about Ron's trip and the crazy situations he had gotten himself into; thankfully, Rufus was there with him.

"Well, I better go Ron. Thanks for calling; you made me feel a lot better. You really are the best friend that anyone could ask for."

"Hey, anytime KP. You know I've your back."

"I know, and I'll always have yours. Well, I'll see you in a few days."

"Yeah, see ya soon!"

Kim disconnected her Kimmunicator and smiled. _"Ron can be really sweet sometimes."_ She thought to herself. Before she left the room, she caught sight of the DVD with the video slide show that the funeral home made from the pictures of Granddaddy that Nana gave them. _"They did a great job on this."_ She though. She was especially touched by the poem that they added at the end of the video…

A golden heart stopped beating,  
hard working hands laid at rest  
God took you from us,  
to prove he only takes the best

She really thought those four lines summed-up her granddaddy in a few words. He was a hard working soul that had a heart of gold, and no matter how you looked at him, he truly was the best.

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A/N: This story was harder to write than I thought it would be, but I'm glad that I did. It was written in memory of my Granddaddy. He really was the best and he will be greatly missed by those who knew him.

As far as the story goes, there are bits of it that are true. The parts that I wrote in to (a. make it fit with the characters from the show, or (b. to keep the continuity with the canon of the show, are what makes it a fiction story.

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope this story brings your own grandparents to mind and inspires you to give them a call. Take care!


End file.
